1949 in NASCAR
The 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock'' season ''was the inaugural season of professional stock car racing in the United States. Beginning at Charlotte Speedway on 19 June 1949, the season included eight races and two exhibition races. The season concluded with the Wilkes 200 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on 16 October. Raymond Parks won the Owners' Championship, while Red Byron won the Drivers' Championship with a 16th place finish at the final race of the season. 1949-01 The very first NASCAR Strictly Stock race was held 19 June at Charlotte Speedway, a 3/4 mile dirt track in Charlotte, North Carolina. Bob Flock won the pole. Glenn Dunnaway was declared the original winner, but a post-race inspection revealed that his car was fitted with illegal springs, causing NASCAR to disqualify him. Top Ten Results #Jim Roper #Fonty Flock #Red Byron #Sam Rice #Tim Flock #Archie Smith #Sterling Long #Slick Smith #Curtis Turner #Jimmy Thompson 1949-02 The second race of the Strictly Stock season was held 10 July at the Daytona Beach Road Course. Gober Sosebee won the pole. Sosebee led the first 34 laps and was passed by Red Byron of Atlanta with six laps remaining, who ended up winning the race. Byron clocked an average speed of 80.833 mph. Only 21 of the 28 starters finished. Louise Smith, one of three female drivers to start the race flipped early on but, with the help of spectators, was able to upright her Ford and continued on to a 20th place finish. The other female drivers, Ethel Mobely in a Cadillac and Sara Christian in a Ford, finished 11th and 18th, respectively. Pre-face favourites Curtis Turner, Bob Flock and Glenn Dunnaway all did not finish. The race took two hours, three minutes and 13 seconds to complete 40 laps. Top Ten Results #Red Byron #Tim Flock #Frank Mundy #Joe Littlejohn #Bill Blair #Frank Christian #Bill Snowden #Gober Sosebee #Jimmy Thompson #Jack Etheridge 1949-03 The third race of the Strictly Stock season was held 7 August at Occoneechee Speedway. Jimmy Thompson won the pole. Bob Flock scored his first win of the season in the 200-mile race, giving Oldsmobile its second straight victor. Flock outdistanced runner-up Gober Sosebee to collect the $2,000 first prize. Third place went to Glenn Dunnaway, Fonty Flock took fourth, and Bill Snowden fifth. The race was interrupted by a wild collision, triggered by Sara Christian. Christian spun her Ford after losing the right front wheel in the 38th lap. As she tried to steer her car toward the pit area, a Lincoln driven by Felix Wilkes crashed into her. Both cars spun to a halt on the home stretch, completely blocking the track. Championship leader Red Byron came around the fourth turn and collected Wilkes' car. In a seperate incident, Bob Smith crashed his Oldsmobile. A crowd of 17,500 came to view the race. Top Ten Results #Bob Flock #Gober Sosebee #Glenn Dunnaway #Fonty Flock #Bill Snowden #Bill Blair #Tim Flock #Otis Martin #Lee Petty #Buddy Helms 1949-04 The fourth race of the Strictly Stock season was held 11 September at Langhorne Speedway. Red Byron won the pole. Curtis Turner out-dueled Bob Flock and came home first in the celebrated 200-mile race infront of 20,000 spectators. Flock finished second twenty seconds behind Turner, Red Byron finished third, Frank Mundy finished fourth and Bill Blair rounded out the top five. Sara Christian, leading female driver, finished sixth in a brilliant performance. Her effort prompted race officials to escort her to victory lane to join winner Turner in the ceremonies. Len Brown drove a 1947 Ford Convertible - the first person to drive an open-top vehicle in a NASCAR Stock car tour. Brown finished 28th. Accidents took out Pepper Cunningham, Walter Minx and Chick DiNatale. Tim Flock was a contender for victory until he was sidelined by a lost wheel. Top Ten Results #Curtis Turner #Bob Flock #Red Byron #Frank Mundy #Bill Blair #Sara Christian #Lee Petty #Al Keller #Al Bonnell #Lou Volk 1949-05 The fifth race of the Strictly Stock season was held 18 September at Hamburg Speedway. Jack White drove a Lincoln to victory in the 100-mile race. White sailed into the lead when former leader Glenn Dunnaway lost a wheel on his Oldsmobile, forcing him out of the race on the 134th lap. Ray Erickson finished second, Billy Rafter took third, Mike Eagan finished fourth and Bill Rexford took fifth. Top Ten Results #Jack White #Ray Erickson #Billy Rafter #Mike Eagen #Bill Rexford #Frankie Schneider #Jack Russell #Charles Muscatel #Glenn Dunnaway #Ellis Pearce 1949-06 The sixth race of the Strictly Stock season was held 25 September at Martinsville Raceway. Curtis Turner won the pole. Red Byron wrapped up the 1949 championship with an overwhelming triumph in the 100-mile race. The 33 year old veteran drove his Oldsmobile into the lead on lap 104 and led the rest of the way. Finishing second, three laps behind Byron, was Lee Petty, Ray Erickson finished third, Clyde Minter fourth, and Bill Blair fifth. Fonty Flock was pacing the field when his Buick lost the right fron wheel and crashed into Slick Smith's Hudson. Top Ten Results #Red Byron #Lee Petty #Ray Erickson #Clyde Minter #Bill Blair #Bill Snowden #Glenn Dunnaway #Al Wagoner #Curtis Turner #Archie Smith 1949-07 The seventh race of the Strictly Stock season was held 2 October at Heidelberg Raceway. Al Bonnell won the pole. Lee Petty won the race in a 1949 Plymouth and finished five laps before Dick Linder, who finished in second place. Bill Rexford finished third, Sam Rice finished fourth with relief driver Glenn Dunnaway at the wheel. Sara Christian finished fifth, the first time a female driver finished in the top five in a premier NASCAR event. She was ten laps off the pace in her 1949 Ford. Top Ten Results #Lee Petty #Dick Linder #Bill Rexford #Sam Rice #Sara Christian #Lloyd Moore #John Wright #Jack Russell #Skip Lewis #Don Rogala Wilkes 200 The Wilkes 200 was the eighth and final race of the Strictly Stock season. It was held 16 October at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Kenneth Wagner won the pole. Bob Flock took the lead in the closing stages when mechanical problems hit Bill Blair. It was the final point race of the year, although two additional non-point events were staged by Sam Nunis at Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway. Red Byron, finishing 16th, was crowned 1949 Strictly Stock champion by a margin of 117.5 points over Lee Petty. Top Ten Results #Bob Flock #Lee Petty #Fonty Flock #Clyde Minter #Herb Thomas #Roy Hall #Ray Erickson #Raymond Lewis #Curtis Turner #Bill Blair Final Points Standings Category:1949 in NASCAR Category:NASCAR seasons